Monday, November 20, 2017

Film Review—Tokyo Videos of Horror: Panic Collection

"Despite its short runtime, it left a much stronger impression than most big-budget, feature-length films in the subgenre."

An anthology of short found-footage horror from the Tokyo Videos of Horror series.

Tokyo Videos of Horror: Panic Collection is an introduction/compilation of short movies from the Tokyo Videos of Horror series—a series I'm not actually familiar with. However, aside from the found-footage style, it did remind me of another great anthology series: Tales of Terror from Tokyo. The first story in this film follows a small film crew who enter an abandoned hotel to play with a Ouija board. The second story follows a couple who are lighting fireworks at the beach when they're interrupted by the voice of a child. And, the third story follows two friends who decide to visit their old middle school before it gets demolished, but, of course, they also run into trouble. Although the second and third stories are very similar, I enjoyed all of them.

Tokyo Videos of Horror: Panic Collection is a short but decent anthology. At only 55 minutes, it packs plenty of eerie scenes, some disturbing visuals, and an ominous atmosphere. There are some truly chilling visuals here. The suspense can be unnerving, too. It doesn't rely on jump-scares, either, which is refreshing for the genre. On top of that, since these are short films, the filler (i.e. home movies) that usually plagues found footage movies is gone. At the same time, it also adopts some of the subgenre's flaws. The first segment, for example, suffers from a lot of shaky cam. The other segments also suffer from bad camera angles that make you miss a lot of the action/setting. But, since this is also shot like a mockumentary, some of the scenes are actually repeated in slow-motion so you don't miss everything.

The acting was all-around good. There really weren't any over-the-top or boring performances. Everyone felt honest and genuine. As I already stated, the film suffers from some bad shaky cam, but it's not a persistent problem and it's become expected in the subgenre—unfortunately. The visuals were eerie, but some of the special effects aren't exactly great. Fortunately, it doesn't heavily rely on special effects, either. The film was directed by Kazuto Kodama. Kodama crafts some suspenseful, spooky found-footage using the most appropriate format out there—short film.

Overall, Tokyo Videos of Horror: Panic Collection is a very good anthology. Despite its short runtime, it left a much stronger impression than most big-budget, feature-length films in the subgenre. As an introduction to the series, it certainly accomplished its goal: I'm interested in watching the rest of the series now.